Be a cause, not just a business

by: Dr. Luz Suplico Jeong

Help Underway: Vehicles Carrying Relief Goods for Taal Victims Clogged SLEX” was the prominent headline of Filipino Times, which is an online newspaper. This showed a photo of bumper-to-bumper traffic in South Luzon Expressway as concerned citizens and volunteers drove to Batangas to carry relief goods for Taal Volcano victims. One netizen wrote in his Twitter account that he was thrilled to see bayanihan at work, According to him, bayanihan is in the Filipino DNA. What was noteworthy was the photo of the group of Grab Food drivers who filled their delivery boxes with donations in the spirit of bayanihan even if it meant no income for them, as they chose to join the relief work instead of reporting to work.

These concerned citizens are part of the growing number of consumers who want to be involved in a cause, may it be a natural disaster such as the Taal Volcano eruption, breast cancer prevention, or environmental preservation. These consumers feel good when they buy a product and part of the sales or profits will go to a cause. Philip Kotler, who is the world’s leading marketing guru in his Marketing 3.0, has stressed that marketing must engage consumers in waxys that provide “solutions to their anxieties to make the globalized world a better place.” Consumers want businesses not just to return profits to their shareholders but to be involved in a cause that benefits local communities and the world. Studies show that consumers, especially the millennials, will buy from a business that is engaged in a cause when faced with similar products. According to the 2013 Cone Global Cause Survey, 53 percent of surveyed consumers will not invest in a business that does not actively support a good cause while 76 percent agreed that it was acceptable for business to support good causes and make money at the same time.

Cause-related marketing is the strategy of donating part of the sales to a cause. While it has been prevalent for businesses to adopt causes in developed countries such as the United States, cause-related marketing is still new in the Philippines. An example of a popular cause-related marketing in the US is the Red Campaign started by Bono and Bobby Shriver that encourages consumers to buy red-branded products from partner businesses such as American Express, Apple, Converse, etc. Part of the sales goes to the Global Fund which aims to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. In the Philippines, Belo Cosmetics, Waters Philippines and Watsons donated part of its sales to Operation Smile, which is engaged in free surgery for children with cleft conditions.

A recent study on American and Filipino college students as consumers found that religiosity had a strong impact on attitude toward cause-related marketing. Since Filipino students tend to be more religious than their American counterparts, they had a more positive attitude toward cause-related marketing. This supported earlier studies that showed that religiosity predicted ethical behavior, such as joining a cause. This research also showed that young American and Filipino college students as consumers, especially those under 35, intended to join cause-related marketing campaigns.

Whether bayanihan and religiosity are in the Filipino’s DNA , more and more consumers choose businesses engaged in cause-related marketing. In an era of growing consumer activism, cause-related marketing can be used by businesses to differentiate their brands and enhance customer loyalty. As Kotler has said, “Marketing 3.0 will be won by those who become purpose-driven social brands.” To do so, businesses and causes must align to bring a cohesive brand story to life. In other words, be a cause, not just a business.

Gerald CastilloFebruary 26, 2020